Paring



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EPHRAIM L. PRATT, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO L. HARRINGTON, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINE FOR PARING- APPLES, POTATOES, 66C.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 16,080, dated November 11, 1856.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EPHRAIM L. PRATT, of the city and county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Machines for Paring Apples, Potatoes, and other Fruits and Vegetables; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making part of this speciication.

Figure l, is a top or birds eye view of the improved machine. Fig. 2, is a front elevation of ditto. Fig. 8, is an end elecation of ditto, secured to the edge of a table or other platform. Fig. 4:, is a transverse section of ditto, at the line m, 00, of Fig. l. Fig. 5 is an end view of the curved knife and bar or rod to which it is attached. Fig. 6, is a section of ditto, at the line o, 0, of Fig. l.

Where the same letters occur in the several figures they indicate corresponding parts.

The nature of this invention and improvement consists in moving the end of the revolving shaft, to which the apple or potato to be pared is attached, horizontally past a peculiarly formed knife, attached to the vi brating end of a curved bar or rod, which is drawn toward the shaft by a spiral spring, its opposite end being liXed by a stud or swivel pin, upon which it moves, the horizontal movement of said shaft with the apple or potato on its end being effected by a screw and cogged rack, capable of being thrown out of gear, to enable the operator to move the shaft in the tube in which it is inserted back to its original position to remove the apple or potato therefrom, and substitute a fresh one in its stead, in such a manner as to enable a spiral peel to be cut from the entire surface of the apple .or potato no matter what may be its diameter or inequality of size and form, by simply turning the shaft.

To enable others skilled in the art tovmake and use my invention I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A is a metallic T shaped plate, having a cross bar B, secured to the lower surface of the tongue part, for adjusting it to the edge of and preventing it from being moved on the table or other platform, after being secured on the same by a thumb screw C,

passing through a female screw in the end of a right angled arm D, secured to the lower surface of the tongue part of the plate A- said thumb screw having a triangular plate E, with pins or sharp projections on its upper surface, attached to its upper end, on which it is allowed to turn if desired, for enabling the edge of the table or platform to be firmly clamped between the same and the end of the tongue part of the T shaped plate. Immediately above the part of the plate A, parallel with the edge of the table, is arranged a horizontal shaft F, having a screw cut in a portion of its periphery and a crank Gr, attached to one end, by which it is turned, and four or more prongs I-I, cast on or secured to the opposite end, on which is forced the apple, potato or other article to be pared. This shaft F, is inserted in a tube I, in which it exactly lits, secured at one end, to the end of the part of the T shaped plate A, parallel with the edge of the table, by a swivel joint J, and resting at its opposite end on the inner periphery of an oval loop K, secured to the opposite end of the plate A, in which loop, the end of the tube has a vibratory movement on the swivel joint, being held up to one end of said l'op, and parallel with the edge of the table, by a spiral spring L, attached to the same and to an upright pin or stud in the tongue part of the plate A, in such a man ner as to hold the threads of the screw in gear with the cogs of a small rack R, secured to the plate A, which cogs are inclined and curved, to correspond with the spiral curves of the threads of the screw, between which Vthey are inserted, for enabling the screw shaft F, to be moved horizontally through the tube I, during its revolution. When it is desired to move the shaft F to the left, after being drawn by the screw and rack the desired distance to the right, the operation moves the vibrating end of the tube I, outward from the table, against the outer end of the loop K, which disengages the threads of the screw from the cogged rack R, and pushes the shaft through the tube, with his right hand.

Inside the screw shaft F, and on the same horizontal plane with the same. is arranged a bent bar or rod M, one end of which is secured to an upright shaft or Swivel pin M, supported in openings formed in ears secured to the plate A, near the swivel ointl of the tube I, which bar or rod M, extends inward from the shaft or swivel pin M', a short distance, and is bent so as to extend diagonally across the tongue of the plate A, over the edge of the table, and again curved toward the left end of the screw shaft F, near which it is again bent, in a reverse direc-tion to the last curve or bend, so as to somewhat resemble at its end a bill hook tooth; this end being flattened or flared somewhat, and inclined downwardits surface next the shaft inclining so as to form a gage thesurface of which rests against the unpared surface of the apple or potato orI other object, immediately next where the knife cuts, and forms an acute angle with the lower edge of the bar or rod vM, next which the knife is secured. The knife N, is bent to correspond at its cutting edge, with the angular edge of the gage portion of the bar or rod, beyond the inclined surface of which it-slightly projects, its body or thick portion being'flared or inclined in a reverse direction to the flare or inclination of the gage port-ion of the bar or rod M, and is provided with wings N, at its ends by which it is firmly secured to the outer edge of the bar or rod M, by-screws, which enable it to be detached for the-purpose of sharpening or other object. The curvature of the edge of the knife N, nearest the end of the bar or rod M is more abrupt and of less radius than Vthe porti-on farthest from the shaft F, as represented in Fig. 1, of the drawings, so as to enable thefpart of the apple, potato or other object, near the shaft to be reached to be pared by the knife at the commencement of the revolutions of vthe shaft F. The movable end of this curved bar or rod M, rests upon a curved guide O, secured to the cogged rack- R, and bent inward over the table, and is drawn toward the shaft by-a spiral spring P, attached to the cogged rack, or other permanent part, and to the curved barl or rod M, sowas to keep a part of the inclined and curved gage surface, at the end ofsaid bar or rod, at all times in contact with the unpared portion of the apple, potato or other object, to enable the knife to pare the portion iminediately next where it rests.

The curvature of the abrupt portion of the knife from the point l to the point 2, (represented in Fig. l) is made in the form of a segment of a circle of a radius of about one inch, and the remaining curvature continues from a segment of a circle, on a parabolic curve therefrom to the opposite end, the two curved portions forming a segment of a cycloid 'of a circle, whose greatest curve is nearly parallel with the threads of the screw when it commences that part of its function of paring the end portion of the apple, potato, or other object, after the segment of a circle portion 1, 2, of the said knife has spirally pared the entire surface in advance, in such a manner as to enable the curved edge of the knife from the point 2 to the point 3, to correspond or nearly so, with the portion of the surface of the object it is designed to pare, and with the threads of the screw, and make it conform with the relative angles assumed by this portion of t-he apple or other object and the curved portion more nearly parallel with the shaft, so as to cause a convex portion of this more flattened part of the knife to cut spirally over the entire end of the apple, potato or other object, through its ability to reach every part of the same.

The operation of this improved machine is as follows z-The operator sits in front of the table or platform S, on which the machine is clamped and with his left hand forces an apple, potato or other object to be pared, on the prongs I-I, and with his right hand, turns the crank G, which causes the screw shaft F, to be moved in the tube I, by the action of the cogged rack R, on the screw, and the apple or other object to be gradually moved past the knife N, the commencement of the 'curved end of which, being in contact with the surface of the same, will commence paring the same, the depth of out being equal to the distance between the edge of the knife andthe inclined surface of the gage, and will .continue paring over the surface, as it revolves and passes'horizontally by the cutting edge ofthe knife, until the whole surface of rt-he apple or other object is spirally pared olf, the spi-ral spring P, always keeping the gage in contact with the surface, and the peculiar curvature of the edge of the knife N, being' in a reverse convex curve, to the convex curves on the apple or other object, will admit of every portion of its surface being pared, no matter what may beits-size or inequality of form. The operator then moves the tube I, toward him by a slight eiort, and thereby detaches the threads of the screw from the cogged rack R, and moves the shaft F, in the tube to its first position and removes ythe pared lapple or other object, and forces another on the prongs I-I, and in the manner described continues the operation.

Instead of forming a screw on the shaft F of the length represented, a short thread only may be made to extend once around the shaft and the cogged rack It, may be made of the necessary length to produce the same effect as that described above.

vWhat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,

1. Moving the apple, potato or other object ina direct line past the knife, or the knife past the object, during the revolution of said apple, potato or other object, by means of the screw shaft and cogged rack or other device substantially the same, whereby the operation of paring is performed by the turning of the screw shaft Without any other movement of the knife than that occasioned by the curvature, size, and inequality of the surface or form of the article being pared, to which the said knife is accommodated by the action of the spring, as herein fully set forth.

2. I claim the peculiar form of the knife, thatis to say, shaping the portion nearest the shaft of the form of a segment of a circle of a given radius, and the remaining portion, farthest from the shaft, of such curvature as will form a segment of a cycloid of a circle combined with the rst portion, and correspond or nearly so with the spiral curve of the screw, when the end of the apple, potato, or other object is being pared, in such a Inanner as to enable its edge to assume at all points of Contact With the potato or other object, a conveX curve the reverse of the convex part of said apple, potato or other object With which it is in Contact, and thereby enable its end and every inequality of its surface to be pared by thus accommodating the edge of the knife to these parts substantially as herein set forth.

E. L. PRATT.

Vitnesses:

l/V. H. TOWERS, H. S. LESHEN. 

